Arachnadoodle in Review – LOL of the flies

I’m reliving grade 10 all over again. Another assignment, another dose of dread. Except that this time, I am completely amazed by the subject. Arachnadoodle isn’t anything like a Robert Golding’s anarchic adventure; it is a ligth-hearted load of web-slinging fun worth more than its 99 cents price tag. But be prepared to sit down, advance some strategies, and get your sling on, because this action/puzzler isn’t just for the funniac.

Connect2Media have a pretty good history here at TMA: Go Go Rescue Squad, Timeloops, and Tumblebugs are all excellent in their own right. Arachnadoodle advances their position with a unique take on Peggle. Your job is to string up a level with spider silk and catch as many flies as possible. It is easier said than done. In order to pass a level, every peg has to be strung within a limited number of turns.

New obstacles and new enemies will forestall your progress at every chance. Enemy bugs will zap you, light bulbs which will fry you, and bouncing bits will cast you haphazardly around the screen. Tiptoeing around these is hard, but Boris (the spider) is up to the task. You have to fire the crazy arachnid by swivelling him in the correct direction, then letting go. And he goes. He bounces off of walls, sticks to furniture, ping-pongs off of balls, changes direction around special pins, and eats flies on the way – he is a very busy spider.

Strategy peeks around the open corners described by obstacles, and in the stringing together of a web. The more pins you can string together, the more flies you will catch. And if you pick up enough bonus bugs and string toghether enough pegs in one turn, the game’s multiplier implements. Fortunately for Boris, none of this goes unnoticed. He grabs fanfare in the form of sound cues, slow-motion cams, and special songs. There are actually loads of special effects waiting in the wings of Arachnadoodle, and each look fab in their pseudo hand-drawn style. The oddest thing on the screen, though, is Boris himself. Bobbing and jumping like a bugged-out idiot idiot, he is the archetypically strung-out junkie.

Despite a cute sound track, you can fly through your own collection of tunes, but to tell you the truth, it isn’t really needed. Arachnadoodle falls into the category of quick-play games. It is perfect for off-moments when you find 3 or 4 minutes strung together. It is also perfect for a few laughs, and represents a goodly amount of fun in all of its 30+ levels. But for those moments when fun becomes oppressive, Connect2Media have included OpenFeint connectivity just to prove how much you still suck.

That was a few hours ago... I'm up to 15 now!

There isn’t much to complain about. Arachnadoodle isn’t 100% unique, but it comes at a great price and is good for a load of laughs. Cute graphics and sound make for tight gaming, but the star of the show is Boris who bounces more than anything in Baywatch. Do I love Arachnadoodle? As much as a grown man can love a cute, doped-out spider, yes, I do. But, I wish it had come out long before Peggle so that my mind wouldn’t keep telling me: “we’ve seen this before”.